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Geeta Bali 60th Death Anniversary: Contribution to Indian Cinema cannot be overlooked

This is a story of almost ninety years. The famous director of that time Kedar Sharma had a grand wedding with the famous actor Raj Kapoor who was working as a clap boy on the sets of his film.

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By Bollyy
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Geeta Bali 60th Death Anniversary Contribution to Indian Cinema cannot be overlooked
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By Shantiswaroop Tripathi

This is a story of almost ninety years. The famous director of that time Kedar Sharma had a grand wedding with the famous actor Raj Kapoor who was working as a clap boy on the sets of his film. Kedar Sharma was very professional towards his work. He did not tolerate any diversity. He was considered a very strict film director. But it is also well known that this same Kedar Sharma always bowed down to the insistence of an actress of that time. This actress was also ready to play any kind of role in Kedar Sharma's film. It was the end of 1954. Kedar Sharma had almost completed the shooting of his first film 'Rangeen Raatein'. The film had Shammi Kapoor and Mala Sinha as the pair. Actually that actress had insisted that she had a part in Kedar Sharma's film 'Rangeen Raatein'. Kedar Sharma was upset because there was no actor left in his film. When the actress remained adamant on her insistence, director Kedar Sharma told her that now there is nothing left except the role of the heroine's brother and that too is a cameo. Everyone expected Kedar Sharma to keep quiet this time. Actually she is acting and she is also not doing a cameo. Finally he established the place of the famous actress of that time. But she said that she is ready to play the role of the heroine's brother. Then she appeared in the film as the brother of heroine Mangala Sinha. No one could say after seeing her on screen that she is a man instead of a woman. There is no other example like this at least in the Hindi film industry. Yes! We are talking about Geeta Bali, the actress who played the male cameo role in Kedar Sharma's film 'Rangeen Raatein' and the famous actress, singer, dancer and film producer of that time. Her 60th Mirza was celebrated on 21 January. Geeta Bali died of smallpox on 21 January 1965 at the age of about 34 years. Very few people will know that for Geeta Bali, every role was always important. The traditional filmmaker never paid attention to who her co-star was. It is a different matter that Geeta Bali acted with all the great actors including star heroine Prithviraj Kapoor, Bharat Ratna, Raj Kapoor, Shammi Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar.

Very few people will know that Geeta Bali had the discerning eye of a director. She could understand the talent of an actor as soon as she saw him and which role would make him popular. That speaker Raj Kapoor was renowned. But his younger brother Shammi Kapoor's struggle was still on. Shammi Kapoor got a film 'Tum Sa Nahi Dekha'. After signing this film, Shammi Kapoor discussed the story of the film and his character with Geeta Bali and said that, "If this film does not succeed, then he will think about taking a break from acting and doing some other work." On this, Geeta Bali said, "You do not need to do this." Because you became a star with the film 'Tumsa Nahi Dekhi' and this happened. Not only this, it is a matter of 1964. In those days, Rajesh Khanna used to rehearse plays in Bhola Bhai Bajaj Memorial Hall located on Warden Road in Mumbai. Seeing his concentration during the rehearsal, Geeta Bali told Rajesh Khanna that you will become a very big superstar one day. Not only this, Geeta Bali also proposed Rajesh Khanna to act in her film 'Rano'. It was told that then Rajesh Khanna went to his astrologer. Rajesh Khanna's astrologer said that he has nothing in Bollywood. Rajesh Khanna refused to do the film 'Rano' according to the truth of his astrologer. Then Democrat was taken in 'Rano' for the same character. It is a different matter that later during the shooting of this film, Geeta Bali died on 21 January 1965 and the film 'Rano' was never completed. But whatever Geeta Bali said to Rajesh Khanna about him proved to be true. She became a super star in Bollywood.

On the 60th death anniversary of Geeta Bali, if we look at her life and career, then her real life story also seems like the script of her black and white films. She left school after class 6 to help her family - a blind father Karatar Singh, partially deaf mother, partially deaf elder brother and a sister. Geeta Bali was born as Harikirtan Kaur on 30 November 1930 in Amritsar, Punjab province of British India. She later changed her name to Geeta Bali. She had an elder sister Haridarshan Kaur, whose daughter is former film actress YoGeeta Bali. Geeta Bali was trained in classical dance, singing, horse riding and Gatka. Geeta Bali's father Kartar Singh Bali, her family lived with her father Kartar Singh, who was a religious preacher, near the Golden Temple in Amritsar, near Chaak Baba Sahib. Both the sisters also used to give their performances. However, these performances of the two young girls did not receive the support of the orthodox Sikhs. In December 1939, they were not allowed to perform in Lahore. Nine-year-old Harkirtan i.e. Geeta Bali vowed that she would come back and perform at the same place. The determined girl kept her promise. Nine years later, she performed on the same stage as the star, Geeta Bali. As a child, Geeta was selected to sing for a programme on All India Radio, Lahore. The vivacious girl wanted to emulate Shirley Temple, the very popular American child star of her time.

Made acting her career out of compulsion

Geeta Bali was involved in music and singing from the age of nine. But she did not want to be associated with acting. Geeta Bali was very happy in her home and singing when one day suddenly she faced the biggest trouble of her life in her childhood. Geeta Bali's father Kartar Singh got smallpox...and this disease took away the eyesight of Geeta Bali's father. This incident devastated Geeta Bali.....but at that time Geeta did not know that one day this disease would become the reason for her own death..well, life kept moving forward. Now the question arose before Geeta Bali to earn money by doing some work and help the family financially, then the eyes of dance director Pandit Gyan Shankar fell on her, who selected her for a documentary film, 'The Cobbler' in 1942. Her agility and understanding of rhythm gave her a chance to perform solo in RK Shouri's Punjabi film 'Badnami' in 1946. In the same year, a famous producer-director of Bombay, Mazhar Khan signed her for a film. Geeta moved to Bombay, now Mumbai with her family and Pandit Gyan Shankar. Mazhar's film was delayed and Pandit Shankar met the noted filmmaker Kedar Sharma, whom he knew from his Amritsar days. Geeta was not beautiful in the conventional sense. She was quite thin, but Sharma was impressed by her sense of humour and eloquent eyes. Kedar Sharma went against the wishes of his brother and the studio staff and signed Geeta Bali in 1948 for the film 'Suhag Raat' (1948) for a meagre sum of Rs 26,000. The film turned out to be a blockbuster. Kedar Sharma repeated her in many films. She remained active as an actress from 1942 to 1964.

Bali became a star in the 1950s. She worked with her future brother-in-law Raj Kapoor in 'Bawre Nain' (1950). Then in 1952 with her future father-in-law Prithviraj Kapoor in 'Anand Math', both of which were successful. Bali was widely known for her comic timing and her range as an actress. Bali's best onscreen pairing was with Dev Anand, with whom she worked in several successful films including Baazi (1951), Jaal (1952), Pheri (1954), Milap (1955), Faraar and Pocket Maar (1956). She received a Filmfare Award nomination for Best Actress for Vachan (1955).

Bali worked with her husband Shammi Kapoor in films like Miss Coca Cola (1955), Rangoon Raatein (1956), in which she sang a song, and Coffee House (1957). Her other notable films were Dulari (1949), Nishana (1950), Albela (1951), Albeli (1955), Kavi (1955). Her last film was Jab Se Tumhe Dekha Hai in 1963.

Geeta Bali did many films with all the leading actors of her time, Bharat Bhushan, Raj Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar and Dev Anand. But Rajendra Kumar refused to romance with her.

 

Why Rajendra Kumar did not want to romance Geeta Bali

In those days, Rajendra Kumar was one of those actors who gave many superhit films in his four decade long career. There was a time in his career when 6 to 7 of his films used to be running in theatres at the same time. After seeing his stardom, many actresses wanted to work with him. Rajendra Kumar started his career in Hindi cinema with the film 'Patanga', but he appeared as a hero for the first time in 'Vachan'. Apart from Rajendra Kumar, Geeta Bali was also in the lead role in this film. Both played brother and sister in this film. But after the film 'Vachan', Rajendra Kumar and Geeta Bali never worked together. Before doing the film 'Vachan', Geeta Bali had done many films. People also liked her acting in 'Vachan'. Not only this, she was also nominated for the Filmfare Best Actress Award for this film. In the film, she played Rajendra Kumar's elder sister. Rajendra Kumar played his role with so much love in this film that he started considering Geeta as his sister in his heart. After 'Vachan', Geeta Bali became a producer along with being an actress. In such a situation, she wanted to cast Rajendra Kumar as a hero opposite her in one of her films, but Rajendra Kumar rejected her offer. Rajendra Kumar told that he considered her as his sister in his heart, so he cannot romance with her on screen.

There were many actors and actresses of the 50s and 60s whose acting is still talked about by people. But in that era, Geeta Bali's acting was unmatched. Even the directors and artists of that era never got tired of praising Geeta Bali. Yes! Once the famous film director of that time, Kedar Sharma, while discussing Geeta Bali, said- "I consider her one of our great artists. There was no one who could perform like her. She was very versatile. When she entered the industry, everyone rejected her. I believed in her and made her a star. Meena Kumari once said, 'Geeta is more accomplished than me as an actress. Her range is very wide.' Not only this, the famous actor Ashok Kumar once said, 'I have not seen another actress as natural as Geeta Bali. Seeing her in any role, it never seemed that she was acting. Working with her was no less than a challenge.' After independence, Nargis, Madhubala, Suraiya, Nalini Jaywant etc. were famous through calm and serious roles. In the same period, Geeta Bali emerged with a lively style of acting. A carefree, playful and carefree girl from Punjab, who knows how to be happy in every situation. In that period, the innocent bubblyness for which Rita Hayworth was famous in Hollywood films, was the biggest attraction of Geeta Bali's natural acting. She was called a tomboy. No matter who the hero was, Geeta Bali's name was enough for the success of the film.

The Trap (1952)

Most films with Dev Anand

As a director, Guru Dutt introduced Geeta Bali (she had appeared in many films before this) in his first film 'Baaz' opposite Dev Anand, the fast rising star of that era. This film was produced by Dev Anand himself. Although the heroine of the film was Kalpana Kartik, but Dev Anand's jugalbandi with co-heroine Geeta Bali on 'Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le' and 'Suno gajar kya gaaye' fascinated the audience more. Later this pair came together in 'Jaal', 'Jaljala', 'Pheri', 'Faraar', 'Milaap' and 'Pocket Maar'. Geeta Bali was also the heroine of Guru Dutt's first film as an actor, 'Baaz'.

The basis of choosing a film was only the character

We have already told that the basis of choosing a film for Geeta Bali was only the character. She never made any demand regarding her co-star. The sensation created by her pairing with Bhagwan Dada in 'Albela' still reverberates in the songs of this film 'Bholi Surat Dil Ke Khote', 'Shola Jo Bhadke Dil Mera Dhadke', 'Shaam Dhale Khidki Tale', 'Dheere Se Aa Ja Ri Ankhiyan Mein' and 'Kismat Ki Hawa Kabhi Naram Kabhi Garam'. Songs like 'Ye Raat Ye Chandni Phir Kahan' (Jaal), 'Chup Chup Khade Ho Jarur Koi Baat Hai' (Badi Bahan), 'Hum Pyar Mein Jalane Walon Ko' (Jailer), 'Saari-Saari Raat Teri Yaad Sataye' (Aji Bas Shukriya), 'Chanda Mama Door Ke' (Vachan) from her other films also tell the stories of her golden era.

Geeta Bali, who had been facing hardships since childhood, had a strange desire to help others. Surinder Kapoor, father of famous actor Anil Kapoor and film producer Boney Kapoor, was once Geeta Bali's secretary. Later, Geeta Bali helped him to become a film producer. This is the reason why every film of Surinder Kapoor as a producer would start with a tribute to Geeta Bali. Not only this, Geeta Bali also helped Guru Dutt to become a film producer, under whose direction he made Dev Anand's film 'Baazi' in 1951. Geeta Bali produced a film in 1953 with Guru Dutt as the director. Dutt himself played the lead role in the film and Geeta Bali played his sister's role in the film. Both of them were named as producers in this film.

Geeta Bali's brother's name was Digvijay Singh. Digvijay Singh was also a film director and in 1952, Geeta Bali worked with Ashok Kumar in her brother's film 'Raag Rang'. Geeta Bali's elder sister's daughter YoGeeta Bali also became an actress. YoGeeta Bali's first marriage was with Ashok Kumar's brother and singer Kishore Kumar, but this marriage did not last long. Later YoGeeta married Mithun Chakraborty for the second time.

Personal life and death

Bali first met actor Shammi Kapoor in 1955 during the film 'Miss Coca Cola'. But while playing a cameo role in the film 'Rangeen Raatein', she fell in love with Shammi Kapoor during the shooting of this film, where he was the lead actor. Four months later, the couple got married at Banganga Temple near Malabar Hill in Mumbai. Yes! After working for four months in the shooting of the film 'Rangeen Raatein', Geeta Bali and Shammi Kapoor fell in love so much that both of them decided to get married. Shammi Kapoor told Rauf Ahmed in his book 'Shammi Kapoor: The Game Changer' how he got married to Geeta. Shammi told that both of them got married in a temple in which no member of the family was present. He told that there were some questions that came to his mind at that time. Geeta was one year older than me, she had worked with my father Prithviraj Kapoor in the film Anand Math. She was opposite my brother Raj Kapoor in the film Bavre Nain. I had no idea how my family would react to our marriage. But I did not have to think much because I wanted Geeta with me at any cost. I had to spend my whole life with Geeta. But the problem here was Geeta herself. Geeta would tell me that Shammi, I love you. I cannot live without you, but I cannot marry you. How can I leave my family? They are all dependent on me. They have no one else. But I did not give up. Finally, when Geeta Bali said yes, we went to a temple in Mumbai and got married at 4 am on 24 August 1955.” A year after Geeta Bali and Shammi Kapoor got married, they had a son, Aditya Raj Kapoor, on 1 July 1956 at Shirodkar Hospital, Mumbai. Five years later, in 1961, they had a daughter, Kanchan Kapoor.

Of the many stars and heroes who have come from the Kapoor clan, what often gets lost in the glitter of the names are the wives. The power of the Kapoor surname, the ability to create the kind of buzz it profits from in an industry like Bollywood, overshadows any possibility of an independent existence. Such is the plight of many who marry into this family, and such was the plight of Geeta Bali, a heroine of the 50s, who dared to change the game even while playing the game.

Geeta Bali chose to remain fiercely independent, avoiding the manipulations and politics of the film industry, which offered glitz and the possibility of enormous wealth. She avoided revealing too many personal details and yet spoke up when the opportunity came to share her opinions. She was a smart woman who knew exactly what she wanted. She also knew how to get it even better.

Geeta often used to say that she suffered the most in her life when her father got smallpox and he lost his eyesight. But fate has a strange game of fate... In 1965, Geeta Bali herself got smallpox... She asked for a mirror and screamed after seeing her face... Smallpox had made her beautiful face extremely ugly and scary... Geeta Bali could not bear this shock. And she died on 21 January 1965...

After her death, Shammi Kapoor married Neela Devi of Bhojapara, Gujarat on 27 January 1969 on the condition that they will not have any children of their own. Shammi Kapoor could not remove Geeta Bali from his heart as long as he was alive.

Geeta Bali was a famous Bollywood female actor, singer, dancer, and producer, who left her indelible mark on the cinema world. However, even 60 years after his death, very few people remember his tragic story.

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